round table with needle-work, dressed in an old-fashioned brocade, with an exquisite lawn handkerchief folded over it; and environed with a scrupulous neatness, where the litter of children's sports never came. In the stoical childhood of the writer, it was a blessed recreation to be permitted to go and drink tea with the old-fashioned pair. The visitor sat upon the stair that came down into the room, and observed the process of making tea, when the bright copper kettle was placed before the fire, and the waiter with small china cups took the place of the work-basket upon the round table. There, as the evening shades gathered in their little room, and the tea kettle sang louder and louder, the mate of this solitary nest came in from the shop. His white wig was exchanged for a linen cap, the cuffs and the apron laid aside, and the latchet of the silver shoe-buckles unloosed, but not taken out. His place was at another small table, where were writing materials and the ledger of the little establishment.

"It was the proud office of the childish visitor to be permitted to carry the smoking cup of tea across the few steps that divided the tables, without spilling a drop, more than rewarded by the benignant smile, the courteous politeness of the old gentleman. Yes; although he sold snuff by the copper's worth he was a true paladin, chivalrous to his companion, whom he always called, My love,' while she addressed him by the placid title of 'Neighbor, obeying, no doubt, the injunction of Scripture, to love her neighbor as herself.

"In this frugal, uniform, secluded manner they passed the evening of a life that had once been more eventful, and with greater means of expense; and in retaining the costume of better days, unsuited to the business of the small shop, they retained what conduced to their own unassuming self-respect. The old lady always folded her work, and closed her evening, in the words of Dr. Watts:

'I'm tired of visits, modes, and forms,

And flatteries paid to fellow-worms;

Their conversation cloys,

Their vain amours and empty stuff;
But I can never have enough

Of thy dear company.'

In my childish simplicity it seemed a beautiful compliment to her companion; but as I now understand its significance, it seems almost a parody upon their quiet life."

2.- Popular Christianity; its Transition State, and probable Development. By FREDERICK J. FOXTON, A. B., formerly of Pembroke College, Oxford, and perpetual curate of Stoke Prior, and Docklow, Herefordshire. "Non Deos vulgi negare profanum; sed vulgi opiniones Diis applicare profanum." EPICURUS. London. 1849. 12mo. pp. XII. and 226.

HERE is another book from a Fellow of Oxford, which shows a tendency of thought in earnest men quite counter to the common theology of the day. The author treats of the Condition of the Churches; Inspiration of the Scriptures; Miracles and Prophecy; the Divinity of Christ; Doctrines and Articles; Prospects and Conclusion. It is not a profound book, the author seldom going down to first principles, nor yet a learned one; but it is earnest, liberal, tolerant. Mr. Foxton often takes things at second hand,

but he generally takes good things. He thus speaks of the condition of the churches.

"The dry bones of all churches are beginning to stir; and (like dead bodies under the stroke of a galvanic battery,) even the most obsolete and superannuated superstitions receive a momentary and spasmodic vitality from the shock of controversial excitement. From the ancient heart of Christendom, from Rome herself, a faint pulsation is still felt through the decaying members, and a lingering hope seems to be entertained that 'new wine' may be put into 'old bottles.'"

"A rationalizing spirit has penetrated into the very sanctuary of fanaticism, and bigotry itself is seeking for the practical and essential in religion, regardless of external forms, and the strictness of a doctrinal terminology."

"A few years ago, the common room at Oriel was the constant scene of those gladiatorial displays of intellect which the liberal Protestantism of the age has introduced into the arena of theological discussion. Amongst the most distinguished of the combatants were Blanco White, Newman, Arnold, Whateley, and Hampden, men admitted even by their adversaries to have possessed considerable learning, unblemished character, and religious sincerity. The dust of the amphitheatre has now cleared away, and after the lapse of a few years let us again observe the position of the combatants. The simpleminded, sensitive, and honest Blanco White, after having successively attached himself, after his secession from Romanism, to the liberal Church party, to the Evangelicals, and to the Unitarians, at length died in the profession of what the world calls Deism. The devout and reverential Newman, after a long and painful struggle, being unable to find a resting-place for the sole of his feet, within the pale of his Church, in primitive simplicity of heart commences, staff in hand, a pilgrimage to Rome!"

"The language of our forms no longer describes the actual feelings and wants of the worshippers, except in the expression of those general sentiments of natural religion which are common to all times, and its hold on the affections of the people (if hold it has) is founded on a sickly sentiment for antiquity alone. It is thus, by for ever looking back, that the Church neglects her office as leader of Christian civilization, and allows the world to outgrow her ordinances, and neglect her instructions. To the best and purest of her ministers, her cumbrous and antiquated machinery is daily becoming more and more an incumbrance and a snare, and the brightest ornaments of her communion are those who virtually renounce their allegiance to her laws.

"The honest defenders of the spirituality of the Church amongst her clergy are simply called upon openly to profess what so many of them secretly believe. Let no honest preacher any longer continue to teach what he believes to be unreal and untrue, even though it may be consecrated by the formularies of the Church. Let the people, at least, be freed from the burden of rites and ceremonies no longer significant, or which have a positive tendency to divert their minds from the spiritual objects of their faith. Let them no longer be taught that the imposition of hands can convey the gift of the Holy Ghost; that the water in Baptism can wash away our sins, or that the Eucharist is more than a commemorative rite. The abrogation of rites and ceremonies, confessedly obsolete or actually pernicious, would be at least a step towards a more earnest and genuine belief."

He thus speaks of Inspiration.

"In conclusion, then, the Scriptures can only be said to be 'inspired' in a sense far more restricted that what is required to sustain the authority which is given to them by the popular theology. Many believers carry to the account of inspiration' the dogmatical wisdom of Solomon, and the poetical beauties of Isaiah; but this is the same 'inspiration' which is popularly attributed to the sublimities of Milton or Shakspeare, or even to the homely wisdom of

Benjamin Franklin; for "Poor Richard's Almanac" abounds in the peculiar wisdom, at least, of the book of Proverbs. The daily prayers of the Church implore for every individual soul the gifts of God's spirit, and shall this divine guide be denied to the benevolent Howard or Elizabeth Fry, whilst it is supposed to have blessed in an especial manner the backsliding Peter, or the incredulous Thomas! The power and influence of the modern saint on his age and nation cannot be compared with ancient examples, for the rapturous enthusiasm of the East is unknown in our northern climate and advanced civilization. It seems extremely probable, after all, that the words "inspired," "Holy Spirit," "Holy Ghost," and many other synonyms, were actually used in the Scriptures much in the same vague sense as in modern literature, where we speak of the 'Divine Dante,' the 'inspired Shakspeare,' the 'inspirations of genius,' or the 'spirit of love;' and surely we cannot deny to the florid writers of the East a latitude so freely indulged in by those of the cold and passionless north."

The

"To the poor and illiterate man of the present age, the Bible, with all its mysteries and miracles, is simply an object of idolatrous reverence. mysterious doctrines the religious metaphysics-the profound criticism and subtle learning by which it is overlaid for the educated reader, are entirely lost upon the illiterate believer. The vulgar idea I conceive to be, that God has twice and only twice actually spoken to mankind, once in the Hebrew and once in the Greek language-these being the chosen tongues of the Divine Lawgiver. The various records that compose the sacred volume are looked upon as objects of devout adoration, as much as if they had actually fallen down from heaven-a childlike reliance on priestly authority, extending even to translations of translations the same sacred character that attached to the original records. All truth and all wisdom-scientific and moral-the whole counsel of God,' are literally assumed to be comprehended 'in the words of a book; and, though it is true that a moral sense of right and wrong is generally admitted to be an original element in human nature, yet the concession is so qualified by a pious mysticism, and so obscured by theological disputation, that the believer is left but little reliance on the inspirations of conscience. The doctrines of original sin and human infirmity are so taught as to neutralize all practical dependence on the 'inward witness.' When such is the condition of the religious mind, not only of the illiterate vulgar, but of the half-instructed laity of all classes, it is easy to account for the still existing credulity on the subject of miracles."

His belief in miracles is hardly orthodox.

"That a belief in miraculous agency should thus exist in the 18th century, or even at the present moment, is simply to be referred to the authoritative teaching of the Church; for there is in reality no sufficient reason for denying the same miraculous powers to the Bishops of Exeter or of London, which were once freely conceded to Justin Martyr or Irenæus. It is certain that the ignorant vulgar believe the miracles of the Church solely on her own authority

they humbly receive this as they do every other doctrine of their faith, on that authority alone, without exercising or attempting to exercise that right of private judgment so boastingly assumed to be the badge of the Protestant. The assumed universality of the belief in miracles amongst all classes of Christians must not be considered, therefore, as any evidence of their reasonableness or of their truth."

"St. Paul, no doubt, heard, at his conversion, one of those

'Airy tongues that syllable men's names,'

so delicately imagined by Milton."

“A living faith in the ethics of Christianity, it will surely be conceded, is more important than a belief in the raising of Lazarus, or the possession of the swine; and if, by a not improbable change in religious opinion, these two miracles should be abandoned, as so many others have been by the advocates

of the popular creed, how little would it affect the spiritual objects of our faith. The grand dogmas of the immortality of the soul—the progressive and heavenly tendency of the human spirit and its relation to God-the incarnation of God in Christ, our bright example (considered by Ullman as the very essence of Christianity)the beauty of holiness and virtue the proper happiness of mankind—all these heavenly lessons would remain self-sufficing and indestructible, though every recorded miracle in the Gospels, and half the doctrines extorted from them by the Church, should be proved to be the offspring of oriental credulity and ecclesiastical corruption. Nay, more, how many thousands of human beings, in whose hearts the love of Christ, and reverence for his teaching, are warmly cherished, but who receive with sullen and stunned apprehension the miraculous history with which it is involved, would rejoice in the emancipation of their understandings and the liberty of reason.

"It is, however, after all, absurd to suppose that the miracles of the Scriptures are subjects of actual belief, either to the vulgar or the learned, and the very gravest of Christians are found occasionally to smile at the ass of Balaam and the voyage of Jonah; and even devout and learned bishops have had their joke at the grotesque superstitions they continue to inculcate. These things surely betray the absence of any honest, sincere, and earnest belief in the popular creed; and, beyond all question, the skepticism of the world is greatly on the increase. I repeat, that, even amongst the vulgar, the miracles of the Scriptures are not matters of devout belief in the nineteenth century, and that, long before another has passed over our heads, they will hold no higher place in the public mind than the spurious miracles of the Romish Church."

A belief in miracle and prophecy is becoming daily less and less necessary as the means of inculcating a faith in the invisible things of God, in proportion as the inner miracles of the human heart and intellect are being made known by the diffusion of spiritual knowledge. Creeds and confessions are almost imperceptibly, but surely, losing their authority over the minds of men under the expanding influence of intelligence and toleration."

3. The War System, or the Commonwealth of Nations: an Address before the American Peace Society, at its anniversary in Boston, May 28th, 1849. By CHARLES SUMNER, &c., &c. Boston. 1849. pp. 72.

THIS is prudent, timely, and eloquent; the best of Mr. Sumner's orations.

4.- Memoir of Hiram Withington. With Selections from his Sermons and Correspondence. Boston. 1849. 12mo. pp. VI. and 190.

THIS work contains a brief and beautiful memoir of a very earnest and worthy young man, who struggled with difficulties in early life, became a Unitarian minister, and died at the age of 30. The sermons are remarkable for directness and brevity.

LIST OF NEW PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

Goethe's Leben von Viehoff. Theil III. Leipsic. 1849. 16mo. pp. 512. Geschichte der Deutschen Sprache von Jacob Grimm. Leipzig. 1848. 2 vols. 8vo. pp. XVIII. and 1036.

Zur ältesten Völker und Mythengeschichte. Von F. Hitzig, &c., &c. Erster Band, Urgeschichte und Mythologie des Philistäer. Leipsic. 1845. 8vo. pp. XII. and 318.

Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs wie sie von der National-Versammlung in Frankfurt beschlossen wurde, &c., &c., nach den officiellen ausgaben, &c. Leipzig. 1849. 8vo. pp. 58.

Ursache und Geschichte der Octoberereignizze zu Wien, von einem Augenzeugen Leipzig. 1848. 8vo. pp. 136.

Beitrag zur Deutschen Mythologie, von Friederich Panzer, mit 4 Küpfertafeln. München. 1848. pp. VI. and 406.

Mythologie und Symbolik der Christlichen Kunst. Von der altesten Zeit bis ins sechzehnten Jahrhundert. Von Ferdinand Piper, Professor der Theologie an der Universität zu Berlin, Ersten Bandes erste Abtheilung. Weimar. 1847. 8vo. pp. XLIV. and 510.

Lexicologie Indo-Européenne ou Essai sur la Science des Mots Sanskrits, Grecs, Latins, Français, Lithuaniens, Russes, Allemands, Anglais, etc. Par H. J. Chavée, &c., &c. Paris. 1849. 8vo. pp. XVI. and 420.

Histoire Critiqué des Institutions Judiciaires de la France de 1789 à 1848. Par M. Hiver ancien magistrat avocat à Orléans. Paris. 1848. 8vo. pp. XVI. and 640.

Dante's Divine Comedy: the Inferno. A literal prose Translation, with the text of the original collated from the best editions, and explanatory notes. By John A. Carlyle, M. D.

O degli altri poeti onore e lume,

Vagliami il lungo studio e il grande amore,

Che m'han fatto cerear lo tuo volume. - Inferno, I., 82-4.

New York. 1849. pp. XXXIV. and 375.

[This is the beautiful work mentioned in Vol. I. of this Journal, p. 527.] The Maniac and other Poems. By George Shepherd Burleigh. Philadel phia. 1849. pp. VIII. and 240.

Foot-Prints. By R. H. Stoddard, &c., &c. New York. 1849. 8vo. pp. 48. First Nursery Reading Book, intended to teach the Alphabet by means of English words, whose analysis shall give the true sounds that were originally, and even now are generally, attached to the characters in all languages. By Elizabeth P. Peabody. Boston. 1849. Small 4to. pp. IV. and 48. A Trap to catch a Sunbeam. By the author of "Mount Jolliffe," "A Merry Christmas," etc., etc. Boston. 1849. 16mo. pp. 60.

Memorial to the State Legislatures of the United States. By John W. King. Cincinnati. 1849. 8vo. pp. 16.

Proceedings of the Yearly Meeting of the Congregational Friends, held at Waterloo, N. Y., from the 4th to the 6th of Sixth-month, inclusive, 1849. With an appendix. Auburn. 1849. 12mo.

pp. 45.

Report of the Woman's Rights Convention, held at Seneca Falls, N. Y., July 19th and 20th, 1848. Rochester. 1848. 16mo. pp. 12.

Spiritual Blindness and Social Disruption: a Sermon, &c., by John Hamilton Thom, &c. London. 1849. 12mo. pp. 28.

The Electropathic Guide, devoted to Electricity and its medical applications. By Dr. A Paige, &c., &c. Boston. 1849. 8vo. pp. VIII. and 158.

Review of Ellwood Fisher's Lecture on the North and South. By Osgood Mussey. Cincinnati. 1849. 8vo. pp. 98. [See above, p. 489, note.]

A Systematic Report of 392 Cases treated hydropathically at Brattleboro', 1848, &c. Also, Causes and Hydropathic Treatment of the Cholera. By Drs. Wesselhoeft and William Grau. New York. 1849. 8vo. pp. 96.